Epiphanies
by sunshard
Summary: They were a subtle couple, but one by one their friends saw the signs. Naruto caught on…eventually. SasuHina, AU, three parter.
1. one through five

Sort of a continuation of Notes, but can stand alone. It's a different style, anyway.

Remember that episode of Ouran Host Club where everyone figured out that Haruhi was a girl? This is kind of like that, except with SasuHina.

* * *

><p>[1 out of 15]<p>

Shikamaru was smart, sure, but more often than not his love of naps won out over his brains. Still, when he _was_ awake, he was really rather brilliant. He had one of those enlightening moments one day, when he saw something interesting in his dorm.

The genius rose bright and early at 12 PM, throwing his pillow at Chōji for waking him up by opening the curtains. He tottered out of bed and ambled out into the hallway to go brush his teeth.

Sasuke and Hinata were walking down the hallway in the opposite direction, side by side. The young man had a book bag slung over his shoulder and his other hand in his pocket, while his female companion clasped her hands in front of her, eyelashes lowered demurely.

Shikamaru stopped and stared at them. They weren't touching, but…

Sasuke walking with a girl (voluntarily)? Hinata not blushing madly and trying to stutter out a conversation?

No…instead, they were walking in silence, absolutely comfortable with one another. Like it was easy.

_Ding_. A lightbulb went off in Shikamaru's head.

It was so obvious.

"You're a couple," he said aloud.

Now, Hinata did blush prettily.

Sasuke didn't seem surprised he had figured it out. "I thought you would find out sooner than this."

Shikamaru shrugged, pushing the door of the bathroom open. "I've been busy."

The two watched as he disappeared inside.

"I've never seen him studying in the lounge," Sasuke observed.

Hinata nodded in agreement.

They walked the rest of the way down the hall and went into Sasuke's room.

* * *

><p>[2 out of 15]<p>

Neji hated to admit it, but he had a horrible soft spot for his cousin Hinata.

He had been secretly relieved when she had been accepted into his college. This way, he could make sure she stayed out of trouble.

There was a…slight problem with this, though. Hinata had grown up. A lot. She was still shy and occasionally awkward but much more confident than before. Somehow, she had caught on to the fact that she was kind of an amazing person.

In the end, the most Neji could do for her was always get her drink whenever the group went to the bar. This way, he could ensure no one would try to date rape her. (He always considered worst case scenarios.)

One night, though, he failed to do this one thing he had promised himself he would each time they were out.

"You can't do this, Tenten."

"Oh, yes I can," the brunette said cheerily, carrying over the shots from the noisy bar over to their favorite table. "Legal drinking age's 20. Thank you, Japanese government."

Neji rubbed his forehead in exasperation, something he felt he did often with the girl. "I mean…this contest. With Lee. You're not going to win, it's plain science. He has at least fifty pounds on you."

"Thank you for implying that I'm skinny, Neji, but I can handle my alcohol." Tenten smiled widely, stepping around a rowdy group of frat boys spilling out of their stall. "And if Lee thinks a game of darts isn't fair enough to decide who's better, that's fine by me. I'll just beat him this way instead."

Neji gave up on trying to reason with her and followed her back to their table. Tenten set the shots down emphatically and sat down on her side of the table, crossing her arms. "All right, Lee, I'm ready."

The bowlcut-sporting martial artist was pushed forward by Kiba and Naruto. He sat down across from Tenten, actually looking nervous. "Tenten, though I always exhort the spirit of youthful competition, I must say that this may not be a good idea – " he began.

"Too late!" Tenten threw back a shot and slammed the empty glass down on the table, grinning. "Let's go, you rose of springtime."

Ino took some of Chōji's chips and chomped on them, waving one around. "I'm not cleaning up after you if you throw up in our room later, Tenten."

"If I may," Sai said mildly, coming forward with his wallet. "I would like to place a bet."

He took out two banknotes, and placed it on the table, looking around. "…On Flatchested."

"Thanks for the support, Sai, but I told you I'm not flat," Tenten told him.

Sai ignored her and nudged Sakura, who was sitting on the table. "Move over, Ugly."

Naruto bounded forward eagerly. "I've got two thousand yen on Lee. I believe in you, man!"

Sakura rolled her eyes from her perch on the table. "You're going to lose that, idiot."

"Oh come onnnn, _Sakura_, be more supportive of me – "

"Can I say something?" Shikamaru interjected.

"No!" everyone yelled. "We don't want your logic right now!" said Naruto, pointing dramatically. "This is all about faith! About knowing that your friend can do it!"

"Why are we suddenly in a shounen manga?" muttered Shino.

Naruto turned to Neji. "So who are you going to bet on, Neji? Hard choice, isn't it? But I think you'll agree with me that Lee is going to win."

But to everyone's surprise, Neji pulled out three yen notes and put them down on Tenten's side of the table. "You've obviously never seen Lee get drunk," he told him. "Three thousand on Tenten."

Tenten grinned up at him, tapping a shot glass against his drink. "All for you, Neji."

For the next twenty minutes, the Hyuuga was so distracted by the drinking contest that he almost didn't notice when Sasuke returned to the table, carrying drinks. Neji watched as he handed one to Hinata, their fingers touching for a brief second.

Neji stared in alarm as she lifted it to her lips. Why would she accept a drink from the Uchiha? What if he had put something in it? Even worse, what if it had alcohol? Hinata was a really embarrassing drunk!

But suddenly he saw that the drink was in that specialized glass he usually asked the bartender to use. It was a virgin orange and cinnamon mojito (eight mint leaves, one shot of lemon juice, two shots of orange juice, one shot of cinnamon, and exactly three and a half lemon wedges), the same drink she asked for every time they came to this bar.

Sasuke knew Hinata's favorite drink.

_Ding_. A lightbulb went off in Neji's head. They were…a _couple_.

He thought about confronting Sasuke about it, but shrugged and decided not to, turning his attention back to the drinking contest. This way, he'd never have to worry about having annoying blonde nieces and nephews.

Behind their friends crowding around the table, Hinata nudged her chair closer to Sasuke's. Sasuke casually draped his arm around her shoulders and she smiled up at him.

* * *

><p>[3 out of 15]<p>

Ino loved football games. They exalted testosterone, attracted masses of crowd euphoria, and were especially fun when the group went together.

Hinata was kind of the complete opposite of the lively blonde. She got claustrophobic in big crowds, headaches from all the cheering, and sunburnt because of her skin was so fair. So when the next school football game rolled around and Hinata agreed to go without even being asked, Ino was a little surprised.

"You're sure about this?" she asked her lavender-eyed roommate the morning of the game, as they prepared to go to class. "You won't faint like last time?"

Hinata turned red from shame, fiddling with her purse. "I'm bringing a hat. And the weather's cooled down a little. Really, I just want to spend time with you all."

"All right…" Ino said dubiously, grabbing her books and heading out the door. "But remember, you're supposed to have _fun_ at these things."

To Ino's further surprise, Hinata did enjoy herself at the game. This was made even weirder by the fact that she was sitting in between Sasuke and Shino, neither of whom were social butterflies to say the least. But most of Ino's attention was involved in the game, bothering Shikamaru to keep him awake, and stopping Chōji from buying something from the vendors every time they passed by. By the time the after party celebrating the victory at a bar was over, she was positively pooped.

As usual, Sasuke and Sai were driving everyone back to the dorm. Chōji carried Ino on his back to Sasuke's Lexus and put her in the backseat, Shikamaru and Shino piling in after them. Hinata took shotgun.

Ino dozed on and off throughout the ride, nestled in between her two childhood friends. In the front, Sasuke and Hinata seemed to be talking about their political economy class in low voices, arguing over whether democratic or authoritarian systems were more suitable. At one point, Shikamaru snapped out of his eternal nap to drowsily raise a point about neo-mercantilism before knocking out again.

At one point, though, Ino overheard something…strange.

"…so where do you want to go after you visit home?" That was Sasuke's voice, smooth and low.

"Why don't we visit Naruma Yu?" Hinata suggested softly. "Their hot springs are lovely this time of year."

"That's rather bold of you to suggest that, Hinata."

A laugh. "Shut up, Sasuke."

Ino blinked, wondering if she was dreaming. Had she just overheard Sasuke and Hinata quietly discussing plans to spend spring break together? And had Hinata just told Sasuke to shut up?

_Ding_. A lightbulb went off in Ino's head.

Good lord - her 5'2", self-conscious, soft-spoken roommate had managed to land _Uchiha Sasuke_, breaker of 1,000 hearts and best-looking sonofabitch in town.

Props, Hinata, she thought sleepily.

* * *

><p>[4 out of 15]<p>

Shino was the quietest guy of the group. He liked to hang back and observe everything, not taking part in conversations if he could help it. Because of this, many people thought he didn't care about others. That was mostly true, but not when it came to his close friends. He absorbed facts and details and was surprisingly good at telling how his friends felt at any given moment.

Of everyone on the floor, he was closest to Hinata (and Kiba, though he'd never admit it). And since she got out of work about twenty minutes after his last class, typically he'd walk her back to the dorm.

So when she stopped him under a tree near the entrance to campus and told him that he didn't have to walk her back anymore, he was confused.

Shino looked Hinata up and down closely. Nothing about her posture seemed to indicate she was upset; her face was neutral as well. He hadn't done anything to make her upset lately, so why this all of a sudden?

"All right," he said aloud, and walked off.

Hinata poked her fingers together in an old habit, hoping Shino wasn't angry with her, and went on her way.

Once his class ended, Shino hung discreetly around Hinata's workplace, hoping to see the reason why she wasn't walking with him anymore.

After five minutes, Naruto came walking by, carrying a huge blowup doll. Oh please don't let it be him, Shino prayed.

Naruto began to slow as he neared the free clinic. Shino's eyes widened in alarm behind his sunglasses.

The blonde came to a stop in front of the door and bent down. "Ooh, a penny!" He picked it up and skipped off, whistling.

Shino breathed a sigh of relief.

After ten minutes, Kiba strolled by, walking Akamaru. Shino narrowed his eyes at him as he also slowed down near Hinata's clinic.

Luckily, it was only because Akamaru was lifting his leg and marking his territory on a nearby trashcan. Shino exhaled.

"Sometimes, I wish I were as free as you were," Kiba told his urinating dog.

After fifteen minutes, Kankuro's little brother walked by and slowed down as he approached the clinic. Shino felt confused. Hinata couldn't have ditched him for Gaara, right? Right?

But Gaara just stopped in front of the clinic's tinted windows and leaned forward, frowning at his reflection.

"Where the hell are my eyebrows?"

After that, Shino was about to give up and go back to the dorm when one last person came walking down the street. He watched, interested, as Sasuke made his way into the clinic with his hands in his pockets and came out with Hinata at his side, carrying her books.

_Ding_. A lightbulb went off in Shino's head.

He stood up from behind a bush and walked away, satisfied. He could trust the Uchiha to take care of Hinata. He certainly was more normal than the other idiots around.

* * *

><p>[5 out of 15]<p>

Kakashi never imagined that at thirty four-years-old, he would be a university professor teaching a bunch of horny college kids with ADD. He had himself graduated from college at a very young age, and then had his stint with the government, working black ops. That hadn't been very fun, so he'd quit. Now he wondered if it had been such a great idea to accept Sarutobi's job offer.

There were a handful of students, though, that made coming back every day to the university possible. Haruno Sakura in his political theory class was one such redeeming student. Arisato Sai from his international relations asked a lot of good questions, even if some of them were kind of disturbing. Uzumaki Naruto had plenty of potential, but tested horribly. Nara Shikamaru could be better than Kakashi himself if he just put some effort into his work. Yamanaka Ino was very book smart and would make a good politician. Uchiha Sasuke worked hard and excelled in everything he did; he just needed to get a girlfriend (or boyfriend, depending on which side of the debate you were on) and then his life would be perfect. And Hyuuga Hinata had made a lot of progress throughout the semester and had a knack for cutting straight to the heart of issues.

Most of these students visited him during office hours, so he could connect their names to their faces in lecture. Sakura liked to sit next to Naruto and would smack him whenever his attention wandered. Ino sat in the front and took notes religiously. Sai sat in the back corner and drew pictures. Sasuke and Hinata were in the same lecture, but always sat apart.

One day, though, something happened to break that pattern.

Things started as usual. Kakashi wandered into his class as late as he dared with coffee in one hand and romance novel in the other. Students trickled into the auditorium from both doors, settling into seats. Like she always did, Hyuuga Hinata took a seat towards the front, taking off her cardigan and setting up her laptop. But then she set her bag on the seat next to her, stopping a boy from sitting down by her side.

Kakashi watched this and filed it away in his brain for later reference. He waited for the class to quiet down. "Course announcements," he said lazily. "We've got a midterm coming up next week. I'll post some study guides. I've been reading through your essays and a lot of you need to work on your explanations. Remember, last day to change to pass/no pass is in two weeks. Think about how you're doing so far...look underneath the underneath for whether you should do pass/no pass or not."

He paused as the door clanged shut and Sasuke walked in, late as he typically was. He stunned everyone, though, when he made his way to a certain row and Hinata removed her bag so that he could sit down.

A wave of murmurs ran through the room. Sasuke ignored it, opening up his notebook and uncapping his pen and giving Kakashi an arch look.

The silver-haired man tilted his head to the side, fascinated. Hinata was hiding her face behind her laptop, blush creeping upwards.

_Ding._

The shy Hyuuga heiress and indifferent Uchiha? Jiraiya should write a novel about this.

But as the weeks went on and Hinata continued to save Sasuke a seat, Kakashi began to realize this went beyond just some fantasy in his head.

They were cute. Unexpected, but really cute.

He overheard some of his female students gossiping and complaining that surely Hinata wasn't woman enough for their darling Sasuke, but he begged to differ. It was always the quiet ones that were dirtiest.

A few weeks later, Hinata received her paper back. On the top her professor had written 94%, a smiley face with a slash through one eye, and: "Good job, Hyuuga! On the paper and the new boyfriend. You two will have adorable babies."

"Should I report this?" Hinata asked, showing it to Sasuke. The young man leaned over to look at it.

"…That idiot's not worth it."

* * *

><p>I wanted to try something where you see things through different characters' points of views. Almost turned into a character studyslice of life thing. Anyway, more to come!


	2. six through ten

thanks for the lovely reviews, people.

* * *

><p>[6 out of 15]<p>

Tenten liked living in the dorms. Being a year older than her roommates meant that they went to her for advice and thought she was more mature than they were. (Tenten knew how mature she _really_ was, but was fine with letting people think what they wanted for as long as she could fool them.) It also meant she could put off deciding whether or not she really wanted to live in an apartment with Lee and Neji. (Did she really want to deal with Lee's boundless energy every day? And Neji's constant need to have everything clean? And what if they made her _cook_?)

But the one downside to dorm life was one hated, but necessary, chore: _doing laundry_.

One Saturday morning, Tenten found herself lugging two laundry baskets down the stairs to the laundry room, followed by Hinata with another hamper of clothing. Ino had won jan-ken-pon and was kicking back in their room, straightening her hair and smugly watching American soap operas.

"This is so unfair," grumbled Tenten, balancing the baskets against her hip as she pushed the door open to the laundry room. "Ino's a neuroscience major. She can see into our minds and cheat!"

Hinata followed her in, putting detergent on top of the washer and setting down the hamper. "It's all right. A servant always did my laundry for me at the Hyuuga mansion, so I feel like it's about time I did some work on my own."

Tenten started to throw clothes willy-nilly into the washing machine. "You should tell that to your cousin." When Hinata gave her a questioning look, she explained, "Sometimes he pays me fifteen hundred yen to do his laundry for him."

The two girls stayed in the laundry room for the next hour or so, chatting and waiting for the first batch of laundry to finish (Ino's clothes merited a whole second load of their own). Hinata had to take a call just as the dryer finished up, so she went into the hall while Tenten began to remove the clean clothes from the machine, putting each in their respective basket.

Poofy lavender jacket: Hinata's. White sports bra: hers. Modest grey V-neck: Hinata's. Maroon boy shorts: hers. Blue sundress: Hinata's. Black leggings: hers. Boxers: some guy's. Wait, what?

She stared down at the utterly confusing article of clothing, decorated all over with little red and white fans.

What were Uchiha Sasuke's boxers doing in their laundry?

_Ding._ A lightbulb went off in Tenten's head. Oh jeez, Sasuke and Hinata were dating, and they'd already gotten farther than Naruto had with Sakura in three months!

"Tenten, Kiba just told me they're giving away tickets to – oh!"

Hinata dropped her phone, hand flying to her mouth in shock as she looked down at Tenten, crouched on the floor and clutching the pair of Sasuke's boxers.

There was a long silence as both girls stared at one other.

"Hinata," said Tenten.

"Yes," Hinata whispered, mortified.

"I demand to know how you pulled this off." The brunette paused. "Literally and figuratively."

"_Tenten_!"

Tenten threw the boxers at her flustered face. "You little minx, you!"

* * *

><p>[7 out of 15]<p>

Sai sometimes surprised himself with how content he was in university. He hadn't expected much out of it in the first place, but it was turning into more fun than he could express (in a literal sense).

He had to admit that his roommates were a large part of why he liked college. Naruto told bad jokes, never cleaned up after himself, and had an irrepressible smile. Sasuke always had the perfect rebuttal to Naruto's idiocy, did the vacuuming, and was quite dependable. They complemented each other perfectly and kept things interesting with their constant bickering.

What was even better was when Naruto got a girlfriend. Since Sai lived with him, he got to observe as the blonde went through all stages of romance, from joy to sulking to utterly confused to happily dazed. It didn't hurt that Naruto tended to wear his heart on his sleeve, either.

But Sasuke was really quite different. He typically was just neutral, his most expressed emotion being disdain. He never checked out girls, which had led Sai to ask him whether he swung a certain way or not. This had earned him nothing more than an incredulous stare and Sai was forced to re-assess whether using Naruto as the model of a typical boy was the best idea.

All in all, Sasuke was one of the hardest people to read Sai had ever met, so something he did one day surprised the artist.

"Hey, the hell is this?" Kiba peered at the portrait up on the hallway bulletin board, nose inches away from the paper. "He drew my hair weird. And my eyebrows are all wrong."

Shino looked at the picture. "…Kiba, that's a portrait of Akamaru."

"…Oh."

A little farther down the hall, Ino was examining Sakura's portrait, hand on her chin. "Wow, Sai really did a great job with this," she commented.

"Really?" the pink-haired girl put her head on Ino's shoulder to look. "Thanks!"

"He got your enormous forehead perfectly to scale and everything. – Ouch, don't pinch me – "

Later in the day, Sai and Sasuke returned from class and emerged from the elevator into the hallway. Sasuke immediately noticed the thirteen portraits pinned to the board, each an ink drawing of one of the floor inhabitants with their special Sai nicknames under them. ("Ugly," "Fatso," "Dickless," "Stoner," "Stick-up-Ass," to name a few.)

"Informal art gallery, Sai?" he asked, amused.

"Of sorts," the pale young man responded. "What do you think?"

Sasuke examined the portrait of Naruto thumbing his nose at the viewer, with a detached eye. "Pretty accurate."

"You can take yours, if you like."

Sasuke eyed his portrait, which was drawn in three-quarter view and labeled "Emo." He looked uninterested.

"Or someone else's," Sai added. He indicated a blank space between Lee and Ino. "Neji took Tenten's."

Sasuke ran his eyes down the lineup, arms crossed. Then, inexplicably, he plucked one off the wall and stuck it inside his notebook swiftly.

"Thanks," he muttered.

Sai stared in fascination. The Uchiha seemed – embarrassed! A quick glance over of the remaining portraits and which one was missing told him all he needed to know.

_Ding_.

The pretty Hyuuga girl's portrait had taken him longer than the others, but this was an unexpected prize for his hard work.

"So you're straight after all," he said teasingly.

Sasuke glared at him, but Sai couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

><p>[8 out of 15]<p>

Kiba liked to think of himself as instinctual rather than knowledgeable. Shino was inclined to agree, except perhaps he would replace "instinctual" with a less flattering adjective.

He wasn't too good with girls (except when it came to making out with them), so whenever he tried to figure out Hinata, he was pretty much lost. He more or less left that up to Shino to do.

Still, he had a damn good nose. And that was how he found out, in the end.

"Ino, let me copy your homework."

"No. Go to hell."

Kiba recoiled like she had stung him. "Oof, you're so harsh! Come onnnn, just this once."

Ino shook her head, typing away at her purple laptop. "You need to do some of your own work for once. I'm sick of you asking all the time."

Kiba gave up on the blonde and turned to Chōji, who was sitting next to him and highlighting a textbook. "Hey, Chōji man, lemme have a look at your math homework."

Ino shot Chōji a dangerous look over Kiba's head. Chōji winced. "Sorry, Kiba."

Sasuke and Sai walked into the lounge. Ino looked at them, raising her eyebrows. "This is unusual. What are you two doing here?"

"We've been sexiled," Sai explained, sitting down on the couch and flipping open his sketchbook.

Everyone took a moment to gag immaturely at the images of Sakura and Naruto in carnal embrace.

Sasuke walked past Ino, Kiba, and Chōji, towards the couch on the other side of the lounge. Kiba sniffed the air.

What was that? Why did the Uchiha smell…feminine? And familiar?

For the next two hours, Kiba deliberated over the scent. It had been faint, something like vanilla and - amber? It wasn't Ino – she wore floral scents exclusively. Tenten favored oriental scents, and Sakura always smelled like fresh fruits or disinfectant, depending on whether she'd just been at the hospital or not.

It hit Kiba eventually, when everyone had left the lounge except for Ino, who was still typing up her lab report.

Sasuke smelled like…Hinata.

It had been her perfume that Kiba had smelled on him.

_Ding_. A lightbulb violently went off in Kiba's head.

"_Bitch_!" he said aloud, to no one in particular.

"Excuse me!" said Ino, offended.

Kiba slapped his forehead and went off to gossip with Shino about it.

* * *

><p>[9 out of 15]<p>

Sakura never, in a million, billion years would have imagined she would be dating Uzumaki Naruto. Through preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, he had chased after her and she had chased after Sasuke. But, inexplicably, they had all registered to the same college, and Naruto had somehow won her over. Or maybe she had just figured out that Sasuke would never be interested in her and it was time to stop being delusional.

It was, to be honest, surreal to think about. But more surreal revelations were on their way, apparently.

Sakura bounced on her heels as she made her way down to Naruto's room, humming. Hinata was also walking down from the other side of the hall, smiling and waving at the pink-haired girl.

Sakura came to a stop in front of Naruto's door and raised her hand to knock. Then she looked to the right and saw Hinata, poised to do exactly the same thing.

They stared at each other for a moment.

_Ding_. A lightbulb went off in Sakura's head.

Somewhere along the line, she and Hinata had switched places. And Hinata had done what she never could: win over Sasuke.

As she was absorbing all this, the door swung open and Naruto poked his head out.

"Heyyyy, Sakura babe," he said suggestively, before noticing Hinata. "Oh, hi Hinata! You here to see me, your future prime minister?"

Hinata flushed but at least maintained eye contact, which was quite the feat considering that a few months ago she couldn't even be within five feet of him. "Umm…no, Naruto."

"Sai, then?" Naruto continued obliviously, scratching his head.

"…No…"

Naruto cocked his head at her, puzzled. "Then…why are you here?"

Hinata opened her mouth, closed it, and fled down the hall back to her room stammering apologies. Sakura rolled her eyes and bopped Naruto on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Sakura pushed him aside and walked in. "Naruto, you are so dense!"

* * *

><p>[10 out of 15]<p>

Chōji knew he could never be smart as his best friend, Shikamaru. Shikamaru outdid him in every area – chemistry, math, writing, history, government, physics, biology, philosophy, the list went on. Every area…except one.

"Hike!" Naruto yelled, throwing the football.

It bounced off Shikamaru's head, who had been dozing standing up.

"Oi!" Naruto jogged over to him, scooping up the ball from the ground. "Come on, Shikamaru! You said you would help me beat Sasuke bastard."

Shikamaru rubbed the side of his head where the ball had hit him, squinting. "Eh…I told you I'd help you win by strategizing. That didn't mean I would actually play. It's too much effort."

Lee came bounding over. "What is the delay, my friends? Would you like to call a timeout and engage in a comradely huddle?"

"No, no," Naruto said hastily. "Hey, Chōji, come over here and replace Shikamaru."

"Sure." The larger young man came over and slapped Shikamaru good-naturedly on the back. Shikamaru coughed from the force of the slap and sauntered off the field to sit on the sidelines.

"Hut, hut hike!" hollered Naruto, tossing the football widely.

On the other side of the field, Neji leaned over to Sasuke.

"Naruto has no idea how to play this game, does he."

Sasuke shook his head. "Nope."

After a few downs, Sasuke put up a hand, announcing he was taking a break. The boys continued to play without him, though Chōji found himself a little distracted as he couldn't help but watch Sasuke make his way over to the bleachers and take a seat next to Hinata, who was watching the game.

The pretty dark-haired girl handed him a towel, which he took and used to wipe his neck. He said something. Hinata smiled and shifted closer to him.

Chōji dodged Shino and caught the football automatically, running for the touchdown line but still looking to the right, at the two on the bleachers.

Sasuke dropped a kiss on Hinata's head.

_Ding_. A lightbulb went off in Chōji's head. Then he got tackled by Lee.

"Oof!"

* * *

><p>Realized I kind of like writing Sai.<p>

I apologize to any Kiba lovers out there. I sorta made him an idiot.

Also realized I don't know a thing about American football when I was writing this.

As for the boxers thing…it's college. Sexy things happen. Trust me.


	3. eleven through fifteen

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thank you for all your reviews!

* * *

><p>[11 out of 15]<p>

Lee was a true gentleman at heart. All his spoutings about the springtime of youth and gloriousness of chivalry? He lived them out to the fullest. Nevermind his bowlcut and googly eyes, underneath that weird green exterior was a knight in shining armor. So when he got hit by a speeding car while helping an old lady with groceries cross a street, no one was surprised. They were all horrified to hear it, yes, but…not surprised.

He was in a coma for a few days, but the doctors had optimistic projections about his recovery. His friends visited him in shifts to make sure he was never alone, the hospital room slowly filling with get-well flowers and balloons. Facets of their personality shone through the junk they left behind, too – a shōgi board from Shikamaru's visit, the dozens of green cranes Neji and Tenten had stayed up all night folding, empty ramen cups Naruto and Chōji had left behind, a biology textbook Sakura had forgotten to take with her. The nurse considered cleaning up, but ultimately decided against it – the patient looked almost more peaceful amid the clutter.

It just so happened that when it was Hinata's turn to watch over him, and Sasuke covertly stayed behind to keep her company, that Lee decided to wake up.

"…you're worrying for nothing, Hinata."

A deep voice, Lee thought, eyes cracking open. It was one of his youthful rivals, Sasuke!

"I just don't want you getting hurt like Lee did, Sasuke!"

"Don't assume I can't take care of myself."

"You're twisting my words. Why can't you stop being so defensive for once and see that I _care_ about you – "

Hinata's voice broke off. Lee opened his eyes and sure enough, Sasuke had silenced her with a kiss. She was eagerly responding, reaching up to grasp his dark hair and pull him down to her.

"Yoshhhhhhh!" cried Lee, overflowing with exuberance at their youthful romance. He punched out blindly to express his joyous enthusiasm.

Something cracked. Sasuke and Hinata broke apart to look over in alarm.

"Ouch!"

Later, Sasuke and Hinata were forced to explain to their friends that Lee would be in the hospital for another week because he had broken a few more fingers in the process of getting too excited.

* * *

><p>[12 out of 15]<p>

Hinata had never been a particularly confident person. Though she had come a long way since her days of being unable to speak without stuttering and considering herself useless in her father's eyes, she still sometimes struggled to see her worth as a person. Surrounded by bold personalities like Ino, Sakura, and Tenten, she assumed that no one would ever notice her quiet, unassuming self.

Then Sasuke came along and upended all her doubts.

It was weird and unexpected but did make sense, in a way. They were both private, unobtrusive people who understood each other's father complexes well. They didn't find silence awkward. He was strong where she wasn't and she was kind where he found it too difficult to express himself. He was painfully, but constructively blunt, and she made him feel bad when he was rude to others.

Still, Hinata had never believed in that stuff about seeing stars when you kissed the person you were meant to be with. But one day in the wintertime it happened, like a scene out of a movie, dispelling all her misgivings.

"You're cold, aren't you," she observed.

Sasuke was only wearing a jacket and blue earmuffs (Hinata couldn't stop staring – he looked so darn _cute_). His hands were stuck in his pockets; he had stubbornly refused to let her hold his hand while they waited in the courtyard. "No, I'm not."

Hinata giggled, herself wearing several layers, a pair of gloves, and a thick scarf. "Admit it, you would kill for my scarf."

He eyed the pink, fluffy object, knitted by her aging grandmother back home. "Think again, Hinata."

"You _are _cold," said Hinata happily, blinking snowflakes from her eyelashes. "So the great Uchiha Sasuke isn't invincible after all."

"Fine," her boyfriend admitted, breath coalescing in glittering clouds before him. "I underdressed. A little."

"A little!" Hinata laughed, cheeks rosy in the cold, and Sasuke couldn't help himself. He leaned down and pulled her towards him in a soul-stopping kiss.

Fireworks went off in Hinata's mind. Her legs sagged and she grasped at his arms, letting out a whimper. She was highly aware of his fingers dragging through her hair, the meeting of their skin and his warmth.

For the sake of oxygen they broke the kiss, foreheads still touching. "That's better," Sasuke pronounced, smirking and twining a lock of her hair between his fingers, his other cold hand resting on her cheek.

And, Hinata thought dazedly, I think…I love him.

"Sasuke – " she started to say.

"Oiiii, bastard! Hinata!"

They broke apart as Naruto came pounding through the snowdrifts, dressed in a bright orange puffy jacket and a ridiculous fur cap and waving like a madman. Sakura trailed after him with a cup of steaming hot chocolate in her mittened hands and a look of long-suffering on her face.

Naruto skidded to a halt in front of them. "Ready to go, you two?"

Hinata nodded, not yet ready to speak.

Naruto eyed Sasuke. "Haha, you look cold."

"Let's go," muttered Sasuke, boots crunching in the snow as he walked away.

* * *

><p>[13 out of 15]<p>

Kurenai liked her job, running discussions. As an assistant professor, she probably could teach her own lecture, but she liked discussion – it let her get to know students beyond their faces and brought her new insights every day. With people like Inuzuka Kiba, for example, she would never have guessed from just looking at him that he had a genuine passion for environmentalism. People like Hyuuga Hinata, who were too shy to ask questions in lecture, blossomed in the smaller group settings.

One of her most diligent students was the Uchiha boy. All her students had their lapses in concentration, letting their attention drift to their cellphones or laptops or music devices. But Sasuke never had any of those things out; he always had a focus that Kurenai found almost unsettling in its absoluteness.

But (as you may have guessed) one day that changed.

It was cold outside, so Kurenai had jacked up the heater in the room. Unfortunately, coupled with the lateness of the class, that meant that her students were dozing off left to right.

"Can anyone tell me ways in which neoliberalism would suggest solutions for the issue of human rights violations in other states? Anyone?"

Kurenai surveyed the classroom, feeling a little like yawning herself. Her red eyes fixed on Sasuke, typically her go-to guy to answer a question.

She blinked. How unusual. The young man had his phone out and was trying to surreptitiously text under his desk. Quite badly, at that.

"Uchiha, are you…texting?"

Sasuke stopped, and slowly looked at her. "Yes," he said, in a way that made Kurenai feel like she was the one in trouble.

"Could…you answer the question, please?" she asked weakly.

"Well," sighed Sasuke, retracting his cellphone, "neoliberals would say that institutions like the UN would be helpful in humanitarian interventions, especially because of Chapter VII of its charter…"

After class ended, students cleared out of the room. Sasuke took his time packing up, and was the last one left in the classroom.

Before he could get up and leave, Kurenai came over (she had to know why he was texting!) and asked carefully, "You're…doing all right, Uchiha?"

Sasuke gave her an odd look. "I'm fine."

"None of your immediate relatives just died? Father's business gone bankrupt?"

"…No," Sasuke said plainly.

The door opened, and a girl stuck her head in, looking around. Her eyes alighted on Kurenai.

"Oh, hi, Ms. Yuuhi!"

Kurenai's eyebrows rose. "Hinata, good to see you!"

Hinata smiled at her and looked over to Sasuke. "Um, I brought you the coffee you asked for…"

Sasuke went over to her and accepted the white cup, muttering questions about how many sugars she had put in and whether she had added creamer. Hinata answered each of his queries patiently, refusing his proffered four hundred yen, and smiled softly when he thanked her.

_Ding_. A lightbulb went off in Kurenai's head as she watched all this.

Uchiha Sasuke had finally gotten a girlfriend! Kakashi hadn't been lying after all!

"Bye, you two! Nice seeing you, Hinata!" she said hastily, and sped off to the bar the teachers frequented so she could gossip.

Sasuke shook his head. "You two know each other?"

Hinata nodded, cradling her own latte. "She was one of my favorite high school teachers."

"…When I was texting you in class, she thought it was because my family had died."

Hinata laughed. "That's because you never text anyone, ever!"

"Well," he said simply, "you're my exception."

* * *

><p>[14 out of 15]<p>

Sasuke was, contrary to popular belief, a very uncomplicated person. Because he didn't talk a lot, girls thought he was mysterious and cool. But here were the three things he typically thought about:

1. Food.

2. Homework.

3. Sleep.

He was quite comfortable with this existence – after all, he had done well for the last nineteen or so years of his life, only thinking about those three things.

But Hinata complicated…_everything_. She brought him food, so he didn't have to think about that. She studied with him and they helped each other with homework, so he didn't have to think about that either. And because of this, he had tons of free time to think about other things – mainly, Hinata. Ironically, that made the third thing – sleeping - much more difficult to do.

For ages Sasuke debated what to do about this. The school year ended and he spent most of summer with the group, hanging out and still getting little sleep. He registered for his classes and accepted the apartment his brother had rented him as a gift. And by the time the school year rolled around again, he figured out what to do.

"I think I'll declare political science after all," Hinata was saying, sipping tea with that subtle grace she was so unconscious of. "I like economics, but it's just not as interesting as poli sci to me."

Sasuke stared down at his plate of food, nodding every now and then.

"My father is telling me that it's a waste of time, but I want to major in what I enjoy learning about. Do you think it's a bad idea? – Sasuke?"

Sasuke picked up a gyoza with his chopsticks and stuck it in her mouth, effectively silencing her. "Hinata, move in with me."

Hinata blinked, chewed, and swallowed. "Okay."

He leaned back in his chair, satisfied.

And just like he thought, it was much easier to sleep with her next to him.

* * *

><p>[15 out of 15…6 years later]<p>

Naruto sat down and arranged himself so he was cross-legged on the floor. He looked expectantly at Sasuke, who was sitting across from him on the other side of the low table. "Well? What's up, bastard? What was so important you couldn't ask me over the phone?"

Hinata came over, depositing a china blue teapot on the table. She expertly poured both young men a cup of tea.

"Thanks, Hinata!" Naruto took a big gulp and almost fell over. "Ohgod that's hot. What are you doing here, anyway?"

Sasuke picked up his cup of tea and rolled his eyes. "She lives here, Naruto."

Then Naruto, open-mouthed, watched as Hinata kissed Sasuke's cheek, murmuring that she had to return to the kitchen to attend to the food. He saw the matching rings on their left ring fingers, the feminine touches around the apartment – high heels next to the door, flowers on the bookshelf, lace curtains over the windows – and the faint smile on Sasuke's face.

A lightbulb slowly, slowly flickered to life in Naruto's head.

"Be my best man, idiot."

"Wait, whaaaat?"

_end_

* * *

><p>Oh goodness that was fun.<p> 


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